Hoteliers in Majorca fight plan to provide FREE water to all guests

Hoteliers claim a lot of the tap water on the island is not fit for human consumption

By Rita Sobot

29th August 2018, 12:09 pm

Updated: 29th August 2018, 4:14 pm

HOTELIERS in Majorca are fighting an environmental proposal which would force them to provide free water for all their guests.

They claim a lot of the tap water on the island is not fit for human consumption and if they were to give customers this, it could lead to a resurgence of the tummy bug compensation claims which have only just been stamped out.

Hoteliers in Majorca are fighting an environmental proposal which would force them to provide free water for all their guests

The hoteliers say they would have to provide bottles of water instead and this would prove extremely costly as bottled water ranges from 80p upwards (€1).

But critics say they are being "mean" and that they could bring in purifiers to supply a service to their guests which other countries already do.

Hoteliers are intent on fighting the proposal under the Balearic Government's new waste rules and have submitted a formal objection to Parliament.

The new bill seeks to implement a variety of measures to cut back on waste as the hotel trade has been identified as one of the worst offenders with measures including the use of single-time plates and bottles and limitations on plastic containers.

The hoteliers say they would have to provide bottles of water instead and this would prove extremely costly as bottled water ranges from 80p upwards

Spanish newspaper Ultimahora.es said the Majorca Hotel Federation is against Article 24, which says hotel and catering establishments should always "offer the possibility of consumption of unpackaged water that is suitable for human consumption, free of charge and complementary to the offer of the same establishment."

But hoteliers say that tap water supplied by some local distribution companies does not strictly comply with regulations and if served straight from the tap would present a health risk.

They claimed: "It could lead to claims for gastric diseases that have resulted in millions of euros of compensation and campaigns of negative image for the Balearic Islands in recent years."

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The Federation is asking Parliament to remove this clause from the bill and are objecting to other clauses as well.

One of them is the requirement of all restaurants to have food containers available if a client doesn't finish his or her meal and wants to take the remainder home (though not in buffets or group menus).

Hoteliers say this could also give rise to hygiene problems and point out that food legislation is opposed to the possible reuse of food remains.